Recruitment Firms Specialize in the Channel

If you are looking to augment your workforce with help for a special project or else add to your headcount, recruitment agencies that specialize in helping IT solution providers can help you find just the right fit.

Solution providers may prefer seeking out job candidates
via word-of-mouth and referrals from current employees or customers, but
sometimes they need outside assistance from recruitment firms. For those
channel organizations seeking a helping hand, there are placement firms that
specialize in working with VARs, from offering temporary staff to recommending
potential full-time staffers in an array of positions.

After all, solution providers typically need a blend of
skills that include both technical expertise and the ability to interact well
with customers. Sometimes, VARs demand additional experience in a particular
vertical or software. And many smaller solution providers simply don’t have the
human-resource infrastructure to sort through hundreds of potential candidates.
Of course, agencies cost money—and VARs must weigh the pros and cons associated
with paying for a recruitment firm versus keeping searches in-house.

VAR Staffing, a
division of 11-year-old Apollo Staffing, was founded in 2010 to work exclusively
with resellers, said Todd Billar, director of channel
development, at the Dallas-based company. "The skillset’s a little
different. When you’re interviewing for a channel partner, there’s additional
screening that needs to be done," he told Channel
Insider.

Ride-alongs are a valuable tool that prospective
employers can use on job finalists, said Billar. Between client calls,
executives will learn a lot about their potential hires, he said, and visits
give VARs the opportunity to witness prospective employees in-action.

"This way, you can get a real strong feeling for what
they’re made of. As you’re riding in the car between clients, you’re making
small talk," Billar said. "If they want the job, darn it, they put some skin in
this game, too."

Solution providers also can turn
to Ingram Micro, which recently further beefed-up the staffing capabilities of
its Professional Services division. The distributor gives VARs the option of
using its services to find both temporary and full-time employees, John Redman, manager of
Professional Services at Ingram Micro U.S., told Channel Insider.

"We act as a staffing and recruitment partner for
our partners," he said. "They can submit basic information about the position
and we’ll go off and find appropriate candidates. We’ll make sure they have the
right cultural fit, the right technical expertise, etc."

Although Ingram Micro has provided this service for
five years, the distributor has seen interest surge recently, said Jason
Bystrak, director of sales and services at Ingram Micro North America, in an
interview.

"We’re seeing the pipeline more than triple. We’re
starting to see that business grow at a much faster rate than we had in the
past," he said.

In part, Ingram Micro credits this growth to the
company’s newer, more proactive marketing of the service, Bystrak said.
Solution providers also are turning to Ingram Micro for hiring assistance due
to new business opportunities, the time and resources associated with in-house
hiring initiatives, and the company’s history of partnering with the channel,
he said.

"It really helps our VARs quickly get the job done
with regard to their staffing needs," said Bystrak.